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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28416816">Miss Popularity</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/amuk/pseuds/amuk'>amuk</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crushes, Developing Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Hate to Love, Humor, Love/Hate, Popularity, Romance, Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:13:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,235</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28416816</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/amuk/pseuds/amuk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ino knew how to handle fame. She’d been the most popular kid since preschool, after all. That was, until Sasuke Uchiha wormed his way into her spotlight. How dare he? The boy didn’t even follow proper skincare routines!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Haruno Sakura &amp; Yamanaka Ino, Uchiha Sasuke/Yamanaka Ino</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Miss Popularity</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Prompt: School!AU SasuIno, fighting for the place of “main bitch of the school” (love/hate, slow burn)</p><p>For ‘im a friend you need’, for the Naruto Secret Santa! Ahaha, Sasuke was a little hard to twist into this AU until I remembered Kare Kano and then BAM, idea.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ino knew how to handle fame. Ever since preschool, she’d always been the most popular kid in her year and sometimes even her whole school. And why wouldn’t she be? She was <em>gorgeous</em>, with her cheerleader figure, long blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. With a charming smile, witty attitude, and the generosity to help her classmates, it was little wonder she was the center of every party, play, or even music recital. Every club named her an honorary member, and she’d saved the student council more than few times. Her classmates loved and admired her. Her teachers adored her. People lined up to confess their love. Fanclubs watched her every move.</p><p> </p><p>In short? Ino was used to attention and knew how to handle the spotlight.</p><p> </p><p>“Ino-chan!” A girl waved eagerly as Ino stepped on the schoolgrounds. Her ponytail bobbed as she bounced on the balls of her feet. “You look as amazing as ever.”</p><p> </p><p>And in high school, that hadn’t changed in the least. Smiling graciously, Ino waved back. “Thanks!”</p><p> </p><p>A senior approached her from her left, several papers in his hand. “I know that you wanted to help the student council only occasionally, but something—”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll stop by at lunch.” Ino carefully took the papers, making sure not to crinkle them. “We’ll figure it out.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, thank you.” He slouched slightly, relieved.</p><p> </p><p>Ino hummed as she continued to greet her loving fans. Honestly, what would they do without her?</p><p> </p><p>A loud squeal behind her answered her question and Ino stopped stock-still at the infuriating sound. She didn’t have to turn around to know why people’s eyes slid past her, why she was suddenly the moon to someone else’s sun.</p><p> </p><p>She pivoted anyway, fighting the urge to scowl as Sasuke Uchiha walked onto the school grounds, utterly uninterested in the attention he was getting.</p><p> </p><p>One of these days, she was going to kill the bastard for doing this to her.</p><p> </p><p>-x-</p><p> </p><p>“He doesn’t even care!” Ino whined, lying on a bench in the school’s greenhouse. There were very few places where she could fully relax here, the chief too being the greenhouse and the roof. Unfortunately, the teachers kept the key to both.</p><p> </p><p>Fortunately, her best friend and somewhat nerd, Sakura Haruno, was in charge of watering the plants in the greenhouse. With her key, it was easy for the pair to slip in for a private lunch, away from prying eyes and ears. Finished eating, Ino rested her head on Sakura’s lap as she ran through her daily rant.</p><p> </p><p>“Like if he wanted it or even cared for it, I could respect that. I’d hate it, but I get it.” Ino crossed her arms, scowling as she remembered this morning. Sasuke had walked past the throngs without so much as looking at them. “But he doesn’t care! And no one is bothered by this.”</p><p> </p><p>“You are,” Sakura replied absentmindedly, flipping through her science textbook as she listened.</p><p> </p><p>“No one <em>else</em> is bothered by it,” Ino amended grumpily. “He doesn’t put in any effort and they all just eat out of his hands.”</p><p> </p><p>“They eat out of your hands too,” Sakura reminded.</p><p> </p><p>“Not as much they eat out of his!” Ino crossed her arms. “I mean, I get it. He’s hot. He’s smart. He’s a jock. He’s a freakin’ triple threat. But doesn’t anyone care about how he acts?”</p><p> </p><p>Sakura flipped another page, her response automatic. “I don’t know, he doesn’t seem that bad.”</p><p> </p><p>“No one looks at me when he’s around.” Ino glared up at Sakura. When her friend just scanned the page, she reached up and tugged her soft pink hair. “You’re not even looking at me now.”</p><p> </p><p>Sighing, Sakura put down her book. “There. Happy? I’m looking at you now. Why do you even care so much about how popular Sasuke is? You’re still top in the school.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m second!” Ino hissed.</p><p> </p><p>Sakura raised a brow, bemused. “That’s still really popular.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know you’re a nerd and think you’re above all this,” Ino growled, “But you’re second smartest to Shikamaru and you bitch about that all the time.”</p><p> </p><p>Immediately, Sakura stiffened. “That’s different!” She scowled, pouting childishly as she thought of their classmate. “He doesn’t even study and he gets perfect grades. I don’t think he even knows what we do in class.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, it’s the same thing here!” Ino retorted. “I bet Sasuke doesn’t even have a skincare routine! And he’s so goddamn gruff and abrasive and everyone still likes him.”</p><p> </p><p>Calming down, Sakura smirked and leaned forward. “You used to.”</p><p> </p><p>“That was before he stole my position,” Ino grumbled. Suspicious, she squinted up at her best friend. “You still like him.”</p><p> </p><p>Sakura flushed, her face matching her hair. “Okay, but in my defense, he is really hot.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s why you don’t care, you’re on his side!” Ino poked Sakura’s stomach. “Traitor.”</p><p> </p><p>“Bitch, you used to oogle him with me.” Sakura swatted Ino’s hand away, shaking her head. “Honestly, if anyone saw the real you…”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, that’s why we eat alone.” The bell rang and Ino sighed, getting up. “We’re going to crush him.”</p><p> </p><p>Sakura picked up her bento and wiped her skirt as she stood. “We’re?”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re,” Ino repeated firmly, smirking. “You’re smart, think of something.”</p><p> </p><p>-x-</p><p> </p><p>If Ino really wanted to, she could have been the student president. It was a popularity contest, no matter what anyone else said, and it would have been a cinch for her to win it and take the top spot. It was also entirely too much work for her and she was more than fine with letting other people handle the menial tasks while helping out with some of the more visible promotions.</p><p> </p><p>Actually, she would have been vice president if Sasuke had applied.</p><p> </p><p>She could feel her brow furrow at the thought and she forced herself to smile. Frowns made wrinkles and she refused to sabotage her skin regime because of that douche. Even worse, she was standing in the school foyer, handing out flyers for the school festival—she couldn’t let her adoring fans see her as anything but their bubbly idol.</p><p> </p><p>“The school festival’s in a month!” she called out, forcing a cheeriness in her voice. Recognizing a brunette passing by—Tenten, from her math class—she pressed a flyer in her hands. “You should sign up.”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?” Tenten looked at her quizzically, then at the flyer. She grimaced. “You know I can’t dance, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s fine! There’s other things to do.” Ino grinned, slipping into a martial arts stance. “I hear you’re pretty good at fighting.”</p><p> </p><p>“More than good,” Tenten corrected with a wolfish smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, we’re thinking of having a martial arts demonstration, and it’d be great to have someone who really knows what they’re doing.” Ino tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and sighed. “But if you can’t, we’ll just have to find someone else…maybe Neji…”</p><p> </p><p>Tenten bristled immediately. Good. It seemed that the rumours were true—she couldn’t handle being second to Neji. “It’s fine. I can do it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Great! Thanks!” Ino internally pumped her fist. Now all she had to do was lure Rock Lee in by using Sakura as bait, and they were all set. As she watched Tenten leave, she heard a set of footsteps behind her. “Hi! The cultural festival is looking for…volunteers…”</p><p> </p><p>She trailed off as she stared at Sasuke. Judging by the gym bag slung around his shoulders, he must have been heading to basketball practice. A small part of her had to begrudgingly admit that he at least worked at keeping his body in shape; there was a reason girls tried to sneak into the gym when he trained.</p><p> </p><p>Ino had seen his abs in person a few times and well…if he hadn’t been her (self-appointed) rival, she’d be all over him. He raised a brow as he looked at her impassively and Ino flushed. She’d been staring.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Stupid.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, uh…volunteers.” Gathering her wits, she pressed the flyer on his chest. If she was lucky, he’d treat this like he treated everything else: dismissively. Maybe he’d even forget that she’d been staring or just shrug it off. “If you have the free time.”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t,” he replied bluntly, though he did take the flyer. She tried not to shiver when his hand brushed hers.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, that’s too bad.” He was far too close, but she couldn’t take a step back. It’d be showing weakness. “I guess you’re too busy with the team.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah.” Oddly, he didn’t leave. Instead, he lazily scanned the paper. “You’re on this too?”</p><p> </p><p>Ino blinked. She hadn’t thought she’d even registered on his radar; he showed almost no interest in anyone outside of his teammates. “Uh, yeah. Just helping out a bit.”</p><p> </p><p>“Cool.” Sasuke looked at her now, and she fought back her blush. His stare was even more intense this close. “You shouldn’t.”</p><p> </p><p>It was like a bucket of cold water washed over her. Unable to stop herself, she glared at him. “Why?”</p><p> </p><p>Sasuke shrugged dropping the pamphlet on the ground. “It won’t work.”</p><p> </p><p>Despite the angry flooding through her, she fought back the urge to yell at him. People were watching. She was in the middle of the school. <em>He was not going to best her.</em> Forcing her smile back, she asked, “Why? You think I won’t do a good job?”</p><p> </p><p>Okay, maybe she hissed more than asked, but at least her voice was low enough that no one else could have heard.</p><p> </p><p>Sasuke raised a brow, clearly not expecting this reaction. Maybe everyone else took his insults without arguing, but Ino refused to. “You’d do a good job.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?” Ino resisted the urge to tear out her hair. What was with this contradictory bastard? “Then why shouldn’t I do it?”</p><p> </p><p>“You have even less time than me.” Sasuke shrugged. Clearly done with the conversation, he side-stepped her and continued down the hall.</p><p> </p><p>Ready for an argument, Ino dug her heels, opened her mouth, and—</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?”</p><p> </p><p>He glanced at her over his shoulder. “You’re overworking yourself.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Huh?</em>”</p><p> </p><p>-x-</p><p> </p><p>For once, Sakura didn’t read her textbook, do her homework, or anything else really as she listened. Instead, she thoughtfully tapped her chin with her pencil. “That’s good, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Ino shot her an incredulous look. “I thought you were listening. How is that good?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Sakura slung an arm around Ino’s shoulder with a shit-eating grin, “That means he’s been paying attention to you, right? He couldn’t have known how much you do otherwise.”</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t argue with that. Reluctantly, she nodded. “Yeah…but how is that good?”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s looking at you.” When Ino stared at her blankly, Sakura groaned and ran a hand through her hair. “I swear to god you are so dense sometimes. Isn’t half the reason you keep bitching about him because he didn’t know you existed? Well, he clearly does know.”</p><p> </p><p>Ino’s jaw dropped. Hackles raised, she punched Sakura in the arm. “What are you talking about? And here I thought you were smart.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nah, you’re just dumb.” Sakura snorted, rubbing her arm. “I don’t get why you’re complaining. He’s right, you know. You’re in waaaay too many things. You’re going to burn out.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re just taking his side cause you like him,” Ino growled, crossing her arms and looking away in a huff. And here she thought she could rely on her best friend. Clearly not.</p><p> </p><p>“Ino.” Sakura rolled her eyes and got up. “I’m going to toss my trash…just think about it, okay?”</p><p> </p><p>Ino grunted undignifiedly, refusing to look as Sakura left the greenhouse. She should have expected this, really. Sasuke was a triple threat after all. Even Sakura wasn’t immune to his charms. No one in the school was, really, which was why she had this problem in the first place.</p><p> </p><p>So what if Sasuke had been a little concerned? Was that even concern? The entire conversation had been confusing and infuriating as hell—did he even know how to speak properly? All it had proved was that she’d been right.</p><p> </p><p>Sasuke clearly had to get knocked down from the most popular position. Maybe then he’d learn how to talk to people properly. At the very least, she’d be able to oogle him in peace. Hearing footsteps, she stubbornly looked away as Sakura returned. “I’ll forgive you if you come up with a plan to take him down.”</p><p> </p><p>Sakura didn’t respond.</p><p> </p><p>Apparently Sakura was just as mule-headed as she was. Ino frowned. “Come on, it’s not that hard. You know Naruto, right? Just use him to get some of Sasuke’s weaknesses and <em>I’ll</em> figure out the rest.”</p><p> </p><p>Still, Sakura didn’t respond.</p><p> </p><p>“What, are you angry?” Ino rolled her eyes, turning around. “It’s not like—”</p><p> </p><p>Sasuke stood behind her, his expression unreadable. In the distance, Ino spotted a panicked Sakura poking her head in through the door.</p><p> </p><p>How this happened, Ino had no idea.</p><p> </p><p>“How long were you here?” Ino asked weakly.</p><p> </p><p> “Long enough.” Even his tone didn’t give anything away.</p><p> </p><p><em>Shit</em>. Ino felt the blood drain form her face. <em>Shit shit shit. </em>There was no way she could wiggle her way out of this one. “…what’re you going to do about that.”</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t reply, only smirked, and she shivered.</p><p> </p><p>Silently, she prayed that they got struck by a meteor. The end of the world didn’t sound half to so bad compared to whatever he had in store.</p>
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